Driving while using an electronic device, for example a smartphone, is one of the leading causes of traffic accidents in the United States. The United States Department of Transportation notes that cell phones contribute to 1.6 million auto accidents each year which cause 500,000 injuries and take 6,000 lives. Many states require that electronic devices only be used in a hands-free mode while driving a vehicle, and have taken other steps to discourage use of electronic devices while driving a vehicle.
There are several approaches to solving the problem of detecting when an electronic device is being used in a vehicle. Some of these approaches are simplistic, for example assuming that if the device is moving above walking speed, then the device must be in a moving vehicle. These approaches use the GPS sensor on the device to determine the speed of the device. However, these approaches do not distinguish between the driver of the vehicle and the passenger(s), thereby providing inaccurate results at best. Other approaches attempt to solve the driver versus passenger dilemma by asking the user of the device a question that requires intense concentration. For the passenger, this is no problem at all. For the driver, answering a question that requires intense concentration violates the very reason for the vehicle safety system: preventing distracted driving of a vehicle. A few approaches use the accelerometer and gyroscope sensors to detect movement of the mobile device; but these approaches also cannot distinguish who is causing the movement of the mobile device: the driver or a passenger.
Prior solutions have attempted to solve the driver versus passenger identification problem by challenging the electronic device user with a simple “unlock” test. This approach works by placing a test on the device screen when the vehicle is in motion, such as a math problem. The theory is that solving the test requires the device user to focus on the screen. Unfortunately, this approach requires additional driver attention on the device screen to solve the test, which presents the unintended consequence of actually making the problem worse since solving the test requires the driver to focus on the test, further distracting the driver from actually driving the vehicle.
It would be desirable to have a system and method to perform one or more of the following: to determine if a driver of a vehicle was using an electronic device while the vehicle was moving, to distinguish between driver and passenger usage of the electronic device, and to disable certain features of the device for driver usage while the vehicle is moving.